Afternoon, /r/Frugal. I've recently found myself having to knuckle down on all my spending due to around $3000 in unexpected house bills this year. Thankfully that's been easy enough as the internet provides plenty of entertainment, and I've been a savvy enough shopper in the past to have a well-stocked freezer of (mostly) meaty goodness. Unfortunately, this still leaves me with the need to satisfy my craving for a bit of something fresh and green in my meals. Luckily, I had a solution growing in my back yard, the green onion.
Last year I'd put together a growing bed for my garden with some spare wood and dirt, and being on a ramen kick at the time, I'd decided that green onion sounded delicious to toss in. When I got down to the bulbs though, I didn't feel like throwing them out. They still had roots... I said to heck with it and popped the whole bunch, still strapped together into the dirt. They started to grow only days after, so I did this again with a few other bunches, and today I have arm length shoots in droves. (Yes, I know they're supposed to be more tender and flavorful when younger, but I like a slight bitter bite sometimes.)
Jump back to when my money troubles started, I was checking my garden to see if my spinach had grown enough to use for anything. Unfortunately it hadn't, but the green onion was there. I decided to see if it worked as well as a main ingredient as it did as a garnish. Turns out, it sure does! I sauteed it with bacon out of the freezer and rice, and flavored it with salt/pepper/garlic. Hearty, tasty, and satisfying. I've been messing around with other ingredients and meats since then, but it's a mainstay at this point.
I decided to look up if it actually had any nutritional value, and it actually has a load of vitamins in it! Soooo, once the money issues are over, I'm gonna end up dropping another 50 cents here and there until I can fill that garden with oniony goodness.
TL;DR version: Green onions are tasty and good for you, stupidly cheap, and you can replant the bulbs so they grow like crazy. Try using a pot or bucket.
April 12, 2017 at 04:30PM
